Mesa - Mesas On Mars

Mesas On Mars

There is a transitional zone on Mars known as the fretted terrain which lies between highly cratered highlands and less cratered lowlands. The younger lowland exhibits steep walled mesas and knobs. The mesa and knobs are separated by flat lying lowlands. They are thought to be formed from ice-facilitated mass wasting processes from ground or atmospheric sources. The mesas and knobs decrease in size with increasing distance from the highland escarpment. The relief of the mesas range from nearly 2 km to 100m depending on the distance they are from the escarpment.